Despite the oft-used Daniel Defoe saying, there are actually three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Diamondbacks starter Bronson Arroyo taking the hill once every five games. The 37-year-old right-hander has been in professional baseball for 19 years and has been a regular part of a starting rotation since 2004 and has never missed a start. His ironman status could be in jeopardy, though, as an elbow injury could cause him to miss his next start.

Via MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert, Arroyo says the status of his right elbow is “slowly sliding downhill”. He averaged 85 MPH on his fastball in his start last Tuesday against the Astros. His fastball velocity was so slow in Sunday’s game against the Dodgers that Pitch F/X was registering them as change-ups, barely registering in the 80’s.

Arroyo has been dealing with the elbow issue for about a month and even received a cortisone injection on May 30, but obviously no progress has been made, even though he held the Dodgers to one run over five innings. A stint on the disabled list looks likely.